handlebar

[han-dl-bahr]

noun

Usually handlebars.
1. the curved steering bar of a bicycle, motorcycle, etc., placed in front of the rider and gripped by the hands.
2. handlebar moustache.
a bar or rod, usually of metal and having a handle at one end, used for handling, guiding, or maneuvering some object.

Origin of handlebar

First recorded in 1885–90; handle + bar¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for handlebar

Historical Examples of handlebar

I stopped to drink from the bag on my handlebar every few miles.
Across America by Motor-cycle
C. K. Shepherd
And again, there was taking the hand or hands off the handlebar, a thing simple in itself, but complex in its consequences.
The Wheels of Chance
H. G. Wells
"Thank you," said Puss, hanging the shoe over his handlebar and setting off once more.
Puss in Boots, Jr., and the Good Gray Horse
David Cory
At every five or ten miles a stop is made to drink water from the bag on the handlebar.
Across America by Motor-cycle
C. K. Shepherd
Winter thought the other had recognized the man crouched over the handlebar.
The Strange Case of Mortimer Fenley
Louis Tracy

Word Origin and History for handlebar

n.

also handle-bar, 1867 in reference to bicycles, from handle (n.) + bar (n.1). Of mustaches, first recorded 1933.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper